MOUNT INDEPENDENCE

VERMONT

Mount Independence

In 1776, General Philip
Schuyler identified this peninsula together with the old French fort
across the narrows as the critical choke point for preventing the British
from invading from the north. From July 1776 to July 1777, thousands of
Americans garrisoned this site and Fort Ticonderoga. Just as construction
of new artillery batteries was beginning here, news arrived that the
continental congress declared independence. On July 28, 1776, Colonel
Arthur St. Clair, the American brigade commander, read the Declaration of
Independence to the assembled soldiers. After that day, East Point or
Rattlesnake Hill, as this strategic height of land had been called, became
known as Mount Independence. In July 1777, Burgoyne's British army forced
the American troops to abandon this position. After the American
evacuation, the British Army garrisoned the mount and continued work on
the buildings and fortifications until November 1777 following the defeat
of Burgoyne's army at Saratoga. The British rearguard burned all of the
structures, abandoned the site and retreated to Canada.

Mount Independence is designated a National Historic Landmark.
The site is covered by several miles of hiking trails that wind past the
remnants of batteries, blockhouses, hospital, barracks, and other archaeological
remnants of this once-bustling fort complex. In the Visitor Center Museum, the
story of military life atop the Mount is told in exhibits featuring many of the
artifacts recovered during archaeological digs.

The four trails pass through nearly four hundred acres of pasture
and woodlands with vistas overlooking Lake Champlain and the surrounding
countryside. Each of the trails is color-coded, but if you don't pay careful
attention, you can easily miss a turn and head-off in the wrong direction.

Exploring Mount
Independence

As you explore the site,
try to imagine a very different landscape during the fateful years
1776-1777. Today, Mount Independence is covered with trees and empty of
structures of human habitation. During the American Revolution, the mount
was a bare promontory on which all the trees had been cut. For sixteen
months, it was alive with activity. Thousands of soldiers constructed
fortifications and buildings with desperate haste. They lived in tents,
huts and barracks, coped with miserable weather and disease, and prepared
to meet the enemy. During the Revolutionary War, hundreds of soldiers from
America, Britain and Germany died here from combat wounds, disease, poor
diet and exposure. These dead lie in unmarked graves. Please remember
their sacrifice by respecting the site. Do not search for artifacts or
degrade the site. Enjoy the historical and natural beauty of this place.
Leave it in the same condition for future visitors. Four marked trails
lead you to the primary sites. A brochure is available to help you learn
about the history of the site.

The Fort on Mount Independence – In the summer of 1776,
atop this rugged hill along the shore of Lake Champlain, American troops began
building this fort complex to guard against a British attack from Canada. The
troops named it Mount Independence in honor of the Declaration of
Independence.

Unlike Fort Ticonderoga across the lake, the fort mainly
consisted of huts and houses. A large shore battery and a horseshoe-shaped
battery were completed. A picket fort was under construction.

As expected, the British did lead a counterattack in 1776. But
thanks to delays caused by a fleet of naval ships under the command of Benedict
Arnold and the combined impressive sight of Mount Independence and Fort
Ticonderoga, British General Guy Carleton retreated to Canada, abandoning an
attempted invasion that year. The very next year, 1777, the opposite would
occur.

Many
American troops went home the winter of 1776-1777, reducing the force from
12,000 to just 2,500. Those remaining spent a horrible winter at Mount
Independence. Many were sickly and a number froze to death.

In the spring of 1777, a few troops returned but not enough to
properly garrison the forts. On July 5th, they evacuated the site when British
General John Burgoyne's forces numbering about 8,000 began a penetration of the
area. The evacuation was triggered by the astonishing placement of cannon on
Mount Defiance. Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence were supposedly easy
targets from the top of Mount Defiance.

As the Americans retreated, the British pursued them down the old
military road, but were halted at Hubbard ton.

The
Red Trail — Several trails at Mount Independence connect well-preserved
remains of the Revolutionary War fortification. The trails pass through nearly
four hundred acres of pasture and woodlands with vistas overlooking Lake
Champlain and the surrounding countryside. Each of the trails are color-coded,
but if you don't pay careful attention, you can easily get off on the wrong
colored trail. For a short visit, the red trail, which is just a little over a
half-mile, is recommended.

The Red Trail passes a line of remains that indicate the
foundation site of a hospital. Begun in April 1777, the hospital had a capacity
of about 600. It was a two-floor, frame building of sawed planks, rather than
blocks or logs. All of the hospital patients were evacuated during the American
retreat on July 5 and 6, 1777, with the exception of four who were too sick to
be moved.

The trail also passes a well-preserved, three-sided stone
foundation, possibly an officer's quarters. Near the middle of the trail, there
is a strategic lookout from a ledge that towers over Lake Champlain. The lookout
is almost directly across from Mount Defiance. The LaChute River from Lake
George and Fort Ticonderoga are clearly visible in the distance.

At the base of Mount Defiance is Route 22 and train tracks that
are used by Amtrak trains from New York City to Montreal. The area is very
quiet, except for the whistle of an occasional passing train.

On the return from the lookout, you will pass a gravestone that
is somewhat curious. The date on the stone is 1760, but historians believe it
was placed in the 1800's.

Enroute to Fort Ticonderoga, NY

Norton's Farm. Behind the farm, you can see the area
where the old military road once crossed Lake Champlain. Fort Ticonderoga is on
the right; Mount Defiance is in the distance; to the left is Mount
Independence.

Carillon Battlefield. The
battlefield is where the French and the British battled for control of Fort
Ticonderoga during the French and Indian War. Most of the markers and memorials
in the battlefield pertain to the French and Indian War but some pertain to the
Revolutionary War.

Through this place
passed General Henry Knox in the Winter of 1775 -1776 to deliver to
General George Washington at Cambridge the train of artillery from Fort
Ticonderoga used to force the British Army to evacuate Boston.

Erected by the State of
New York during the sesquentenial of the American Revolution.

This marker has a map on it that shows the route taken by General Knox when
he carried artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. The route includes Fort
George, Fort Edward, Saratoga, Halfmoon, Albany, Kinderhook, Claverack,
Nobletown and finally Cambridge.